Iris
by Marasquin
Summary: Reid becomes careless with his using, but finds the one person he can use freely around: a peculiar painter named Iris, who finds Reid’s aura fascinating and uses him as a muse. full summary inside [EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER UP DO THE SURVEY!] R
1. The worst artist in history

Reid becomes careless with his using, but finds the one person he can use freely around: a peculiar painted named Iris, who finds Reid's aura fascinating and uses him as a muse. But as they grow closer her paintings become more and more revealing about Reid's secret, and she and her art catch the attention of a very dangerous crowd…

* * *

"Belgrave Blue…" The girl whispered, dipping her paintbrush in a pot of deep blue paint. She wiped excess paint off the sides of it, lifted the paintbrush until it stood straight in front of her nose and glasses, sniffed, and frowned slightly. She swirled the paintbrush in a cup of water for an instant, dried it off on a colour-spotted rag that was on her lap and she lifted the paintbrush up again. She smiled, satisfied, and streaked the blank canvas in front of her with the brush, leaving small gradient streaks of sky.

"I wonder what Belgrave is." She said out loud. No one else was in the park, by this wet weather. She herself was sitting under a parasol, conveniently transformed into a dry haven for her and her paints. "Sounds like a country. Maybe middle eastern…" She dragged her sentence on as she dipped a paintbrush in another pot, labeled Mandalay Ivory. She dragged this paintbrush across the canvas as well, sometimes overlapping the blue, sometimes not. She the moved onto Gypsy Grey, Pigeon Blue, and Albaster before a noise distracted her from her canvas and she was forced to break her concentration.

In a grassy patch of dirt in front of her four boys had decided to sit.

"Excuse me." She said. They didn't respond. "Excuse me!" she said louder. One of the boys looked up, that had messy blonde hair and a smirk on his face.

"What?" he said.

"You're sitting in front of what I want to paint." She said. The boy looked behind him.

"There isn't anything there."

The girl nodded fiercely.

"That's what I'm painting. I would really appreciate it if you could move yourselves somewhere else."

Reid looked her over curiously, then snorted. He was about to reply something crude, along the lines of _I-can-sit-where-I-want _before an older looking boy with dark eyes and hair stopped him.

"Sure, we'll move. Sorry, we didn't know you were painting it."

"That's ok." She said with a smile.

The four boys stood, one by one, Reid sitting on the grass the longest, just staring at the girl, who had returned to her painting, carefully streaking more Belgrave Blue on the canvas. Caleb gave him a nasty glare, and he stood grumpily. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and waltzed away, passing by the girl and glancing at her painting of the forest that they had been sitting in front of.

He stopped himself from laughing as he walked past. The forest, lush and green and glistening with droplets of rain, looked very different than the messy, blue, white and yellow representation of it the girl was so concentrated on.

_She must be the worst artist in history._

"Reid!" Pogue called. Reid looked over at him and his two other brothers and grunted.

"I'm coming, jeez…" he waltzed around the painter girl and towards them casually.

A sickening crack sounded from above him, and he barely had time to look up when a branch from a nearby oak tree, weakened from the rain and wind, broke free and fell towards him. Barely worried, Reid just let his eyes turn black as he stopped the branch in mid-air, inches above his head, before he disintegrated it. A mess of wet woodchips rained on his head. He wiped them off, spun around to brush some off his pants and met the gaze of the girl, who had been staring right at him with a blank face the whole time.

* * *

_An idea thats been living in my head for some time. Probably something really short, unless i get inspired._


	2. What's on the inside

"Hi."

Reid didn't usually talk to people like that. He waited to be talked to first, and then he replied, with either a smirk or a grunt. Sometimes both. But he didn't want to waste the time it took for this girl to figure out who was boss around here. He needed to know if she had seen anything.

"Hi." She replied, not looking up from her canvas.

Today, she was painting a cathedral, sitting in the middle of a parking lot with her bag of paint and her canvas. She had started this painting not so long ago, so not much had been done yet. She had a dark red shape in the middle that resembled a bean, and then on top a cream-colored cloud she was improving on. He didn't comment on her painting this time.

"Can I help you?" she asked monotonously.

"Uh. Well, I was wondering if you had finished the painting you were doing last week… in the park. I was one of the people blocking your view." He recalled the colorful mess. "and… um I saw it and I really liked it."

The girl still didn't look up from her painting, and had begun to add some black to the far right side of the canvas.

"So?"

Reid scowled.

"Did you finish it?"

"Yes."

"Well… could I see it?"

She looked up at him now. She was wearing the same dark glasses she had been last time they had met. Her brown hair was a mess, framing her pale face, whose features had remained blank.

"Why?"

"Because I liked it and I want to see what it looks like finished." He snapped.

He was getting irritated now. He had tracked her down for a whole week, before finally finding her alone, and the only reason why he had done so was because he needed to know if she had seen him use. But she was impossible to read. And he couldn't just ask straight up.

"Alright."

He was a bit taken aback by her response. It was a good thing though, he suspected that if she had seen him use she would have been less enthusiastic to be with him alone.

He took a step back and watched her pack up her things. Paints in a green canvas bag, easel stuffed on top of them, followed by paintbrushes. She dumped the water on the concrete, splattering dark ink-like liquid on her white converse shoes. She held the canvas up delicately between her hands and handed it to Reid.

"Could you hold this?"

Reid mumbled a quick 'sure' and held it, examining the wet blobs of paint. He really couldn't see how it resembled the church. When he looked up again he choked and nearly dropped it.

The girl was standing, her bag slung over her shoulder and the stood she was sitting on under her arm. Her other hand was holding a easily-recognizable cane, white with a red tip.

"You're _blind_?"

The girl snorted.

"You didn't know?" She took a few steps forward, tapping the edge of her cane on the concrete. "I thought you would have guessed by the mess of my paintings."

"You're blind… And you paint?"

She smiled.

"Yes I do."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Don't be mean." She frowned. "It really isn't nessecary."

Reid was thrilled. If she was blind, then she hadn't seen him use, and there was no chance of her noticing something odd by hearing only. He was off the hook.

"Sorry." Reid said.

"Its ok. You're not the first."

She started walking towards the sidewalk. Reid followed beside her.

"So you paint?"

"I do. I thought it was obvious."

"But how do you paint if you're blind."

"I just paint something different."

She paused at a street corner and ran her fingers across a pole until she found the button that signaled to cars that a pedestrian was coming. Reid paused beside her.

"What do you paint then, if you don't see what you're painting?"

"What's on the inside."

She started crossing the street, leaving Reid to ponder that conundrum for a moment, before she called him from the other side of the sidewalk. He scrambled after her, not bringing up the subject of her particular talent any more.


	3. Paint for the sake of painting

"Whoa…" 

"It's a building, Reid. There's nothing impressive about it."

"Oh yes there is. You just can't see it."

They were walking up the steps of a huge, ornate building, that ressembled Spencer slightly, but much bigger. It had to be five stories high, built of dark carved stone and shiny wood. The windows were huge, the door was huge, everything about it was enormous and reminded Reid of a modernized castle.

Iris snorted. Iris was the girl's name, he had found out not long ago. Iris Evans, and she lived and learned in the huge building in front of him. He felt more comfortable around her than he would have expected, considering she was blind and he had a tendency to make cruel jokes, without necessarily wanting to be cruel.

But Iris didn't seem to take her lack of sight too seriously.

Which Reid was incredibly thankful for.

"Ever try painting this?" He asked as they walked though the huge oak entrance.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Iris shrugged.

"Just didn't. Not a good vibe, you know, with all the stress and animosity and stuff that's usually associated with school."

"Not a good _vibe_?"

Iris turned and scowled at him. Reid just chuckled lightly, and kept following her down the maze of halls that led to who knows where.

"How do you not get lost around here? Its insane!"

"Practice, and memory. Its not so hard once you've done it approximately four thousand three hundred and eighty times." Responding to Reid's shocked silence, she added. "Three hundred and sixty five days a year, twice a day, for six years. Four thousand three hundred and eighty. Not counting the extra times, like right now."

When Reid didn't respond again she smiled and laughed a little while pressing her index hard against a button of the elevator they had just reached. Reid didn't ask about the elevator, figuring out by himself that for someone who couldn't see, climbing four stories' worth of stairs would be difficult and painful, if ever they happened to fall.

A soft bell announced the arrival of the elevator, and the doors slid open.

"Ladies first." Reid said mockingly. Iris snorted and walked in the elevator.

She pressed the button for the fifth floor that was decorated with embossed bumps that Reid assumed were Braille for five. The elevator doors slid to a close and it quickly reached the last floor.

"They didn't spend much money decorating this place, did they?"

"Well, when the people living there _can't see_…"

The hallways were painted a light blue, the floor was wooden and the lights were turned off. There was nothing ornate or pretty about them, they were just hallways, something to walk through.

The last door at the end of the hall was Iris' room.

"Forgive the mess." She said while twisting her key in the lock. "People who see don't usually come and visit." A click was heard and she extracted her key and opened the door.

"Wow, you weren't kidding." Reid said, slightly amazed. Her dorm was a mess, yes, but a breathtaking mess.

A whole wall was covered in splashes and streaks of colorful paint, that almost looked like faces and silhouettes if you squinted and tilted your head a little. The floor was splattered with paint cast-off, covered in various easels, paintbrushes (some still dripping wet paint,) and clothes, the latter piled almost neatly in a corner where it doesn't bother the art.

Iris drops her canvas bag on the floor, takes the easel from under her arm and leans it against a plain white wall. She unbuttons her long black coat and throws it on a bad, revealing the cream-colored dress she wore underneath. She turned to Reid and waited.

"Oh, sorry." He hands her the canvas. She takes it and gently places it on another, bigger, easel. "Can I see the painting?" He asks, remembering his first excuse for speaking to her.

"I guess. You came all this way."

She walked across the room, opened a window (the smell of lingering paint was getting too strong for her liking) and sat on the floor. She stuck an arm under the bed and pulled out a pile of canvases, all piled up in no specific order. She leafed through them for a few seconds than pulled one out, and handed it to Reid.

The blue that had been overpowering the canvas since the last time he saw it was still there, although a bit muted by a dark, almost black shade of green. White was splattered a bit everywhere, and so was yellow. A long stripe of red ran down the middle.

"Its very… er… nice."

Iris snorted.

"I don't paint so they can be looked at, I'll have you know. I paint for the sake of painting."

Reid frowned and looked down at the mess of dried paint. Something about it looked suspiciously like the forest, although he couldn't figure out what it was. He ran a long calloused index finger across the paint and nearly jumped.

When he had touched the painting what had felt almost like an electric current ran through his body and a perfect image of the forest appeared in his head, more detailed than a memory. He could see the individual trees, the grass, the bushes, the raindrops that were gently raining down on them all, and more peculiarly a pile of charred woodchips sitting in a clearing.

"Wow." He said in a whisper she couldn't hear. He placed his open palm on the paint. The image came back, along with the sound of the falling rain and the smell of the wet grass. He closed his eyes, and relived the peaceful scene for a moment.

"Oy. Reid."

He opened his eyes and jerked his hand from the painting guiltily. Iris was standing again, her hands on her hips and looking distraught.

"Could you help me find something?" She asked.

"Sure." Reid placed the painting down on a bed. "What are you looking for?"

"Book." She said. "Macbeth." She leaned over and started rummaging through a pile of clothes and scrap paper on the floor. Reid just looked around. It was going to be impossible to find anything in this mess.

Unless of course, you were Reid Garwin.

His blue eyes turned to black and a dozen books hidden across the room rose and floated in the air. Reid read the title of a few of them until he recognized the familiar characters that formed _Shakespeare. _The other books dropped, and the selected one floated into his hand. Iris heard the sound and raised her head in his direction.

"This the one?"

She stood up and walked towards him. She took the book, and ran her fingers along the spine and the ridges that formed the Braille title.

"Yeah. Thanks." She smiled at him.

"Braille?" Reid asked.

"No. I can read actual words." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah." Reid joked. He walked towards the painted wall and examined her characteristic messy painting. "Are these people? On the wall?"

"Yeah. Friends, family…"

Reid ran his fingers along a first silhouette and the blurry figure of a girl appeared in his head. He pressed his hand down on the paint and the features of her face became clearer until he could almost see her calm face break into a smile. He moved his hand over to another shape, and another, and finally let the face of a teenage boy seep into his mind. The boy's face was the most detailed of them all, he could see the dimples in his cheeks and the stains of yellow in his blue eyes. He looked terribly sad. Reid almost wondered if he could ask who the teenage boy she had recalled with such care was.

"Reid?"

He looked up at her, not taking his hand off the wall.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I have this thing to do for school… and I sort of need some quiet."

She looked tired now, behind her dark glasses.

"Sure, no problem… Bye."

He turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway.

"Iris?"

"Hm?"

"Could I… buy that painting?"

"What?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I'd like to buy that painting. Please."

"You can have it for free." She waved her arm in the direction of the painting. "If you like it; its yours."

"Thank you…" Reid walked a few steps and grabbed the canvas, then walked back out again. When he was in the hall he heard her call after him.

"Reid!"

"Yeah?" he turned around and looked at her. She sensed it, and reddened a bit.

"I'd like to paint you."

"What?"

"To paint you. A portrait. Somewhat. Someday. If you don't mind."

Reid just blinked.

"Sure." He said after a long, awkward silence.

Iris looked a bit shocked, then smiled a wide, genuine grin.

"Thanks! Just… come 'round whenever you want!" She turned around and skipped back into her dorm, leaving Reid standing in the middle of the hallway, thoroughly puzzled.

* * *

_So, i've decided that this story has a (sortof) purpose. I'm going to portray Reid in a slightly more philosophical way, considering that in almost every fic he's just a typical, sarcastic, annoying, jerky womanizing teenage boy. And i feel like experimenting with his sensitivity. So yes. Expect Reid to think, alot, in this fic._


	4. Whats wrong with me

"Lets play a game."

"Pardon?"

"A game. You know."

"No. I don't."

Reid frowned from atop the stool he was sitting on.

"A game. Come on. For fun."

Iris leaned to one side and let him see her puzzled expression from behind the canvas. Then she starting laughing quietly, and retreated to behind her painting.

"Bear with me. I don't paint models usually, I just paint from memory…"

"Like the people on your wall?"

"Yes. Like them." She leaned over and frowned at Reid again. "You could tell they were people? No wait. Don't answer that."

"Why not."

"Because. It adds to your aura of mystery."

"You'd rather paint my _aura of mystery _than know anything about me?"

Iris stayed silent for a bit.

"I dunno." She whispered eventually.

Reid didn't say anything, and let her wallow in her silence. He looked around her dorm room while she painted some more. It was in less of a mess than the last time he had seen it, the clothes were put away, and so were all the scrap bits and pieces of art supplies. But the walls were still splattered with paint, and now that it was cleared Reid could see that the floor was too, but not purposely.

He turned his head to one side, and let his power part the curtains that were blocking the sun from penetrating the room. The flood of light washed over the floor and the rest of the room, and Reid's black eyes got a lovely view of the city from her window.

"Lets play."

He turned and looked at the figure behind the canvas oddly.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to play a game. Lets play." Iris smiled playfully.

"Sweet." He grinned. "Lets play: What's wrong with me."

"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows.

"What's wrong with me."

"You make up stupid games, that's what."

Reid snorted rather loudly and Iris laughed. The silence that followed was a lot less awkward.

"The rules are that you say something that's wrong of weird about yourself. Not the obvious, something profound. And then the person you're playing with responds. Wanna go first?"

"Nah…"

"Alright then. What's wrong with me? I sleep with socks."

Iris laughed.

"Your turn!"

She pondered the question a bit, then replied in a firm voice.

"I once put hair removal cream accidentally in this girl's shampoo."

Reid laughed really loudly at this, and fell off his stool, landing on a bed and falling off of that too. Iris yelped in surprise and quickly stood to help Reid, who was examining the underside of her bed.

"Sorry!"

"That's ok. You store a lot of paintings under there don't you?"

"Yeah… it takes up less space that way."

They stood beside each other in silence for a moment.

"Hair remover?" Reid finally hazarded.

Iris blushed.

"It was an accident…"

"Suuure it was…"

Reid snorted and put the stool up straight again before sitting on it and looking back at the brunette, who was standing with her arms crossed.

"It was." She insisted. "It was a while ago. My roomie and me where helping this girl organize her stuff, cause she had just moved in. There was a bottle of shampoo in her bag, but it had opened and spilled while we were carrying it. So my roommate, Myriam, said that she had some we could transfer into the bottle, because she didn't want to get blamed for spilling it all. So I went into the bathroom, grabbed the bottle on the side of the bathtub and-"

She interrupted herself when Reid started laughing again.

"Oh man! And she never thought it was you?"

"She didn't know! And she still doesn't…"

"You _never _told her?"

"Well I never realized my mistake until Myriam pointed out that all the cream was almost gone, and this other girl said that her hair was thinning out oddly… Stop laughing at me!"

"Sorry Iris, but that's too freakin' funny…"

She crossed her arms angrily and huffed off to her canvas. She sat down and hid behind it, not even painting. Reid eventually noticed she was upset and stopped laughing.

"Iris…"

She didn't reply.

"Iris!"

Her right arm stuck out from the side of the canvas and grabbed a paintbrush on the table beside her. She violently dipped the paintbrush in a pot of dark paint, sending splatters of it on the floor and towards Reid, who used quickly to avoid staining his white uniform shirt.

"Iris…" the droplets of paint floated in the air in front of his worried eyes. "Iris I'm sorry." The paint slowly drifted in her direction and landed in the open pot.

"Sure you are." She streaked the canvas with paint with a swift twitch of her wrist.

"I really am!"

She didn't reply and dipped her paintbrush, albeit more gently, in a pot of sky blue. Reid felt a pang of guilt, something he had never felt before, in the back of his mind. Whether it was because she had trusted him with a secret and he had been a jerk, or that it was the first she had reacted at his insensitivity.

"I'm an insensitive jerk."

She stopped painting.

"That's what's wrong with me. I'm a jerk. And an asshole. And I'm not too clever either. And insensitive. And-"

"I get it, Reid." She smiled. "Thanks."

They stayed silent again for a while.

"What happened to your roomie?"

"Hm? Myriam?"

"Yeah."

"Operation." She said quietly.

"Operation? What kind?" Reid said naively.

Iris sighed, and put her brush down.

"To fix her eyes." She tapped gently on her glasses. "Her optic nerve. The nerve that transmits images that the eye captures to the brain. Got it fixed. Moved out."

_Insensitive_ ran through Reid's head.

"Is she one of the portraits?" he said quickly, shooing the thought from his head.

"Yeah. Top right corner."

Reid stood up and shuffled over to the wall. As he was doing so, he glanced at the work in progress that was his portrait. It wasn't much, yet, just a splash of odd colour here and there.

_I wonder what it would look like if I touched it now. _He pondered. Would he be lacking certain features, or appendages? Would he be paler, like a shadow of a real person?

He let the thought exit his head as he placed his open palm on another painted silhouette, of a girl with dark glasses on like Iris and vivid red hair. He curled his fingers into the wall and the girl's glasses disappeared and the eyes underneath were green.

"What are you doing?" Iris asked. "Every time you go to that wall, you stay silent."

"Does it bother you?"

"No. Its curious, that's all." She said monotonously. "You usually talk. A lot. So when there's silence I get suspicious."

"Is that another thing that's wrong with me? I talk too much? Or does it add to my _aura of mystery_?"

"Maybe both." Iris said. "However, it doesn't count in the game."

"Huh?"

"And neither does that bit about you being a jerk and such."

"And why not?" Reid said with a huff. Iris grinned maliciously.

"Because you said it yourself. It cant be something obvious – Hey!" She squealed when Reid threw a stray pillow at her.


	5. Here there and everywhere

"Where have you been?"

"Here and there, my friend, here, there and everywhere."

"Don't start making stupid jokes now, Reid. This is the third time this week that you go off without anyone and wont tell us what the fuck you were doing."

Reid peered at Caleb with an unhealthy grin. He had avoided sharing his time with Iris with the rest of the sons of Ipswich. Whether it was because he just plain didn't want to, or because he feared they would mock him, he didn't know. But he did love how easily it annoyed the eldest.

"Well, what were you doing?" Caleb spat out.

"Can't tell."

"Why not?"

"If I do it will ruin my _aura of mystery._"

"I'm serious, Reid."

"So am I!" he said. "Keeping my aura intact is _very _serious business-"

He was cut off when Caleb's eyes flashes black and a mug dangerously twitched on his kitchen table, threatening to head toward a certain someone's head. So Reid shut up after a quick snort.

"And you tell me to quit using…"

He reached over and grabbed a chocolate chip bagel from a paper bag in the middle of Caleb's kitchen table. They were waiting for Tyler and Pogue, and then were heading off to Nicky's for their usual Friday night party.

"You're going to eat at Nicky's anyways. Why eat the bagel now?"

"Ahm hungwie" Reid replied with a mouthful of dough. He gulped loudly, and swallowed. "And maybe I'm not in the mood for junk food. Maybe I'm in the mood for…" he let his voice trail off, lost in thought.

"A bagel?"

"Nah. Whatever artists eat."

It was Caleb's turn to snort.

"Artists? Since when are you into artists?"

"Since now." Reid said vaguely, taking another bite of bagel. Caleb grinned and leaned in closer until he was face to face with his friend.

"I bet you've been off with some hot artist chick this whole time. Am I right?"

"Please." Reid finished off his bagel. "If I were out banging some girl, don't you think I would be bragging about it?"

"Well I don't know, I never know what's going on with you, except that it usually involves girls, sex, fights, pool, food, sex… sex… and girls."

"Well I," Reid stood casually. "Am thrilled that my best friends know me so well." He finished sarcastically. He circled the table and checked his watch. "Well Pogue and Baby Boy are late."

"Funny, usually its you."

"Do we go off without them or do we wait?" Reid added, ignoring Caleb.

"Go off. I'm hungry, and that was the last bagel. And the girls will start freaking out like they did last time."

"Did they?" Reid asked, remembering how he had made the three other sons of Ipswich almost an hour and a half late.

"Yeah, cause of you. And you didn't get in any shit, you just waltzed off with that redheaded slut-"

"Oh come on Caleb." Reid was getting annoyed now.

"Come on what? Seriously Reid, everyone knows that all you ever do is be a jerk, fuck a girl, maybe twice or three times if she's really good, and then you leave and start over again. You're not exactly man of the year, Reid – Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Somewhere that isn't here." Reid snapped. He put on his coat and walked out the door, slamming it slightly behind him. Greeted by a rush of cold rain that wasn't there when he had walked into the Danvers residence, he sighed, pulled up his hood and wondered what he could do next.

The answer seemed obvious.


	6. You're my secret

"Reid?"

"The one and only. You busy?"

"Well, apart from the fact that until recently I was _sleeping, _no, I'm not."

"Any possibility of us being able to do something? Like now?"

Iris sighed.

"I'm not in the mood to paint right now Reid, maybe in the morning…"

"Ok, no painting. How about just talking?"

"Are you alright, Reid?"

"Depends what you consider 'alright'"

Iris frowned, and took a few steps back from her doorway, leaving enough room for Reid to walk in. He whispered a thanks and walked over to a bed and flopped down on it and buried his face in the vanilla-smelling pillow.

"Reid?" Iris whispered. She was right beside him now, sitting on her bed, her face puzzled and thoroughly worried. "What's wrong?"

"My friends." He said, after stretching out on the surprisingly comfortable bed. "They're being stupid."

"How so?"

"They don't know me. And pretend they do."

Iris shoved Reid gently to make more room on the bed and laid down beside him, stretching her legs until her toes almost passed over the mattress. She placed her hands behind her head and sighed contently. After a moment of silence she added, seriously:

"You realize I know you even less."

"And you admit to it. And the things you do know are truer than what they think is true."

"Which are?" she asked curiously. Reid thought of that for a minute, but couldn't come up with an answer. "I know your name, Reid Garwin. That's it."

"Its still something."

Iris smiled and stared up at the ceiling.

"I have a new game." She said after a long silence.

"Oh?"

"Yup. And it doesn't involve things that are wrong with you."

Reid rolled over until he was on his side and facing Iris.

"Sounds promising. Whatsit?"

Iris rolled over as well until they were barely inches apart.

"Secrets." She whispered huskily. Reid blinked and stared at her. "What?" she said indignantly.

"Dunno, it just seems very similar to 'whats wrong with me'…"

"Well its not. It can be good things." She said. "You start."

"Why do I always have to start?" Reid whined. "Ive had an absolutely _horrid _day, and now you expect me to just divulge my most personal secrets first? You, my friend, are a-"

"Green."

Reid looked at her curiously.

"Excuse me?"

"Green. That's my secret." She said with a sly smile. "Its up to you to figure out what it means."

Reid swore under his breath.

"I heard that." Iris whispered. Reid looked up at her, and tried reading something, anything, on her face. It was the first time he had really gotten a look at her. She had dark brown hair that looked like it hadn't been cut in a very long time else than the long bangs that hid the fair skin of her forehead and a good part of the sunglasses she wore all the time. Finding no inspiration, he resulted to the typical Reid way of finding information.

His blue eyes faded to black, and he performed a quick trick that he had taught himself. Reading someone else's mind was a bit unethical, but he hadn't used it to do unethical things, yet. Quickly scanning her thoughts a few images appeared that didn't seem to have any meaning, then the flash happened.

"Your eyes." Reid said.

Iris looked genuinely shocked, she even moved a bit back upon reflex. But soon her surprise faded to incredulity.

"Used to be." She specified. "How did you know?"

"My secret." He said.

"So tell me."

"Maybe some other time." He said. Iris pouted a bit.

"You still have to share a secret." She said.

"Not until you explain to me why your eye colour is such a secret."

"Cause I've never told anyone. It seems like no big deal, because it's supposed to be something obvious. But since I became blind I haven't told anyone, because it doesn't seem important."

"But it is to you?"

Iris looked puzzled.

"I don't know. I guess it is. It's just weird. It shouldn't be a secret. But it is."

"That's special then. Its your little anti-secret."

Iris laughed.

"Anti-secret. I like that." She moved a little and made herself more comfortable on the bed. "Your turn."

"Hm." Reid thought for a moment. "Can I tell you my eye colour?"

Iris looked momentarily hurt.

"I'm kidding!" Reid said, panicked, when he noticed it. "Um…" He thought about all his secrets. Come to think of if, else than the covenant he didn't have many secrets. "I'm a virgin." He finally said.

Iris' expression didn't change.

"How is that a secret?" she asked.

"Right. You don't know me like everyone else. I've got this reputation, you see, of being a bit of a-"

"Womanizer?"

"Yeah. And that I've slept with almost every girl on campus."

"And that's not true?"

"Nope."

"So why not tell people?"

"Its not that easy." Reid sighed. "I have these three friends-"

"The three you were with that day in the park?"

"Yeah. Now stop interrupting." He snapped a little. But his tone softened as he continued to speak. "So I only ever hang out with these three guys. I've known them for almost my whole life. And they're all so different… There's Caleb, who's our fearless, ethical, all knowing and brave and everything. Then there's Pogue, who's the bad boy rebel with the heart of gold, Tyler who's shy and smart and the glue that holds us all together. And then there's me. And I can't be anyone except-"

"A manwhore?"

"Yeah." He said with a little laugh. "Although I actually can't stand the thought of myself being even close to one."

"That's still not a reason not to tell them. They're your friends."

"And they would understand? Yeah, right. You don't know them Iris, sorry."

There was another lengthy silence that seemed to happen so much when they were together. Iris yawned.

"Think of how awful this must be for them."

"Right." Reid said with a snort.

"No. Really." Iris said firmly. "They've known you for almost their whole lives, and the only thing they think they really know about you is completely false? Think of how awful they must feel."

"If they ever found out."

"If they ever found out." Iris agreed. "Which they should. But its your secret, not mine."

"Speaking of your secret, you owe me another one. And no more anti-secrets, I want the real deal."

"Demanding little thing, aren't you." Iris teased. Then her pretty face scrunched up in thought, and she pondered for a long moment.

"If you can't think of anything I could ask you a question and you could just answer that…" Reid said.

"That sounds fine." Her face lightened up a little. "Ok, shoot, Mr. Question-asker."

"Who's the guy on the wall?"

Iris frowned.

"What guy?"

"The one with…" Reid's voice trailed off once he realized that he couldn't describe the boy he had seen physically. "The one that's in the top left corner." He said instead. "He looks about our age."

"Hm." Iris thought for a moment. "Oh, I know. Theo."

"Theo, eh? Who is this Theo of whom you speak?"

Iris smiled a bit sadly.

"My brother." She said. "Lives somewhere someplace that I wasn't told of. Haven't seen him in at least four years. I've lost count since then."

She looked genuinely sad at the thought, and Reid regretted bringing it up. But his curiosity got the better of him, and anyways, secrets were meant to be admitted someday.

"Why are you sad about it?" He asked gently. Iris turned and faced him.

"Isn't it obvious?" She said bitterly. "For my entire life he was there taking care of me, and then as soon as some one else starts he runs off and forgets I even exist." She sighed a little, and, as an explanation, she continued. "When we were kids he accidentally sprayed bleach on my face. Soon after I became blind. Everyone thought that the two were related, for obvious reasons, and from that day on he had been taking care of me like he was my mother. Then ten years later we discover that the bleach didn't make me blind at all, it was a problem that was in my eye before hand. Suddenly, just as the blame of making his baby sister blind lifts, he flees. And I haven't heard from him since."

"Sounds like a jerk."

"He's my brother." She said sourly. "Jerk or not I love him anyways."

"Seems like that happens a lot doesn't it?" When Iris gave him a curious look he continued. "Being forced into liking people."

"Are you saying you wouldn't love your friends if you weren't so close?"

"Probably not." Reid admitted.

"So what is it that keeps you together? Time doesn't necessarily solidify friendships…"

"That's a secret I can't tell…"

"Why not?" Iris frowned.

"Just can't." Reid said. "Please don't hold it against me."

"I wont." Iris said evasively. "But if one day I don't want to tell you something you have to understand too."

"Deal." Reid said with a grin.

Iris smiled and cuddled closer to him on the bed.

"Cold?" Reid asked.

"A little." She said. "But thats unimportant. Your turn."

"You."

"No, your turn."

"No, I mean you. You're my secret." At her confused expression he grinned. "I haven't told my friends about you. They've been wondering where I've been when I'm here. Its been driving them mad. Its crazily fun to watch."

"Glad I could help." Iris said with a sly grin.


	7. Why Reid is going to hell

"So what's it like being a blind girl in school?"

"You think I'm the only one?" Iris said with a laugh.

"Well, you never mentioned otherwise." Reid said indignantly.

"True." Iris said as she splashed red paint on the canvas. "Well, these are the dorms of the Helen Keller school for physically challenged youth. Each floor's for a different disability. First and second are for deaf. Third and fourth the mute. Fifth and sixth the blind. The actual school is across campus."

"That's pretty cool. Must be nice and peaceful."

Iris snorted.

"Right. 'Cause were all disabled we come together as one big happy family, right?"

"Wrong?"

"_So _wrong." She wiped the brush on a rag and proceeded to paint over the red with some yellow. "There's this constant 'battle of the senses' going on. Whether vision, voice or hearing is the best sense… it's really dumb, but some people take it really seriously. Its about the equivalent of the battle between the blondes, brunettes, or redheads."

"No popularity then?"

"Popularity is even worse here. Each group -blind, deaf, mute- have the designated 'populars'. Then, there are the typical social classes. Lackeys, jocks, cool artists, cool stoners, dumb stoners, dumb artists, activists, nerds, geeks, and total losers."

"Where are you situated in this… hierarchy?"

"I don't even know anymore." Iris said absent-mindedly. "I don't even bother socializing with people anymore. I think I've got a new level just for myself. Loner, moron, nerd and weirdo all rolled into one. And its somewhere beneath dust bunnies and goldfish, pyramid-wise."

"How can you be a moron and a nerd all in one?"

"They found a way." Iris said. "Something about me painting. And then the fact that I'm apparently a total genius."

"Apparently?"

"Yeah. Apparently." She said.

"I dunno, I think I agree with whoever stuck you in that spot. You are a genius." At this Iris smiled mockingly. "And totally weird. And hey, you gotta admit, goldfish are pretty freakin' cool."

"Of course." Iris said sarcastically, waving her paintbrush in the air. "It is _so _vain of me to think that maybe, just maybe, I could be cooler than the goldfishes." Droplets of paint started flying. "I mean _really. _I deserve hell for that."

"Most definitely." Reid agreed, stopping the drops in mid air. "Hell, you wont even have to go to purgatory. Straight to the fiery bowels of hell, you will." With a wave of his hand and a blink of his eye the droplets all assembled into one marble-sized droplet of floating yellow paint. He spun it around and collected drops from the open jar of blue and spun the two colours around and around until a small planet earth was rotating slowly. "And they said I failed astronomy." He said out loud.

"What?"

"Nothing." Reid said. The paint separated and floated back into its separate containers. "Talking to myself. But back to the point. You're going to hell."

"Then you're coming with me."

"I disagree."

"Oh?" Iris raised an eyebrow. "Funny, you didn't seem the angelic type."

"Well, I wouldn't say _angelic, _but what can I say, I'm a good boy."

Iris snorted.

"I am. I haven't performed any of the seven deadly sins in a long time."

"Do you even know what the seven deadly sins are?" Without even waiting for Reid to reply she continued. "Lust. Ok, so you're a virgin, but you still pretend to sleep with all girls, which not only counts as lust but lying as well. Wrath. You have a mighty temper, from what I've seen, what with almost telling me off at the park and storming in here like you were about to rip someone's head off. Gluttony. You're a teenage boy, you automatically eat a lot."

"Now come on, that shouldn't count-"

"Sloth. You would rather sit here all day and pose than go do active stuff. Hell, you wont even stand. Pride. You model."

"Oh come on!"

"Envy. You envy your friends for their ease at life. You envy others for having a specific place in society. You envy almost everyone for everything. Greed. Um…"

"Ha!" Reid said in triumph. "You can't find anything for greed!" Iris shrugged.

"Six out of seven sins. That's still hell, honey. And not to mention your lacking of the seven heavenly virtues."

"The what?"

"Seven heavenly virtues. Whereas the sins get you into hell, the virtues get you into heaven. Truth. You lie, a lot, all the time, you even admitted to it. Wisdom. Ha!" she just laughed. "Creativity. You don't act, paint, draw, play any instrument, write, or anything. Tolerance. You're pretty closed minded. Courage. Well, this one I'm puzzled about, since I've never seen you in a situation that requires courage. Freedom. You said it yourself, you feel trapped and restrained by your friends and your school and etc. Love. You-"

"Ok, I get it. I'm going to hell. Six out of seven sins. One out of seven virtues…"

"Hm. Where did that one come from?"

"Love. I might be a lustful, temperamental, hungry, lazy, envious, lying, non-creative, intolerant, wimpy, restrained jerk, but I love. That much I know."

"Good." Iris said with a smile.

* * *

_I added the character visual for Iris on my profile page. Just image her with sunglasses. Feel free to comment, or say your own suggestions for the character (i would actually like that alot, it could be fun!!) and keep reviewing!_

_Note: the seven virtues mentionned are just one version of them. Almost every theological ideology has a different set, and these are as widely acceptable as the next. The sins however are the immovable kind that everyone says. (Just thought i would mention that.)_


	8. Miserable

Iris had an extra credit presentation to do in the afternoon, so much to his regret; Reid was forced out of his realm of paint-scented serenity and back into his usual unforgiving world. It was a nice, albeit a little cold, winter day, and he decided to walk back to the Spenser dorms instead of taking his car. _I'll pick it up next time._ He thought. 

He whistled as he walked into his dorm, a tune that he had picked up from somewhere, he couldn't recall specifically when. He shed his coat on the floor and grabbed the drink that Tyler had on the side of the desk he was sitting by.

"Hello to you too." He grumbled, snatching the glass back from his blonde friend.

"Sorry, Tyler." Reid said. "Just walked back from the other side of town. Was in the mood for a drink." Tyler eyed him cautiously.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Peachy. Why do you ask?"

"You apologized, and called me by my name instead of some overrated nickname."

"So maybe I'm in a good mood." Reid said. Sitting himself down on a bed. "What are you studying for?"

"Don't change the subject." Tyler put down his pencil and tore his eyes away from his calculus book. "Caleb said you were in a shit mood Friday night. You stormed off, disappeared for the night and come back a day later happier than you've ever been. That isn't normal."

"Technically I didn't disappear, I came back to the dorms but you were out-"

"Don't change the subject Reid." Tyler said seriously. "Something's wrong with you."

"And you're worried?"

Tyler looked slightly taken aback, but responded with full force.

"No shit I'm worried!" He spat. "You're my best friend and you're suddenly disappearing for days at a time and I have no idea what the hell you're doing! You really thought I _wouldn't _be worried?"

"Well, I don't know what you think half the time." Reid said absentmindedly, fiddling with a pencil he had found. "You don't tell me shit either, baby boy."

Tyler was angry now.

"Because nothing ever happens to me, and besides, you never ask. The last problem I had was when the girl I liked asked you to the school dance in seventh grade, and back then you asked me what was wrong with me."

"She was a bitch, Ty, you deserved better-"

"That's not the point!" He yelled. "The point is that you're ruining the whole fucking point of having best friends! I don't know what the hell is going on in your life, and when I ask you, you don't say shit and start attacking me!" He seethed. His eyes fixed on a spot behind Reid and he stood up from his seat and reached to grab it. "And what the hell is with this stupid painting?"

"Tyler, shit, don't touch that!" Reid scrambled to his feet.

"Oh, and why shouldn't I? Touch, touch, touch…" He repeatedly poked the canvas. "touch touch touch touch-" Until he ended up placing his open palm on it and he froze mid-sentence."

"Shit." Reid whispered, lunging and grabbing Iris' painting out of Tyler's hands. The latter didn't react, just blinked repeatedly and looked down at the empty space where he had held the painting.

"What… what was that?" Tyler said in a whisper, all trace of anger in his voice gone.

Reid put the painting down, and took a deep breath.

"That painter girl in the park we met a few weeks back." He began shakily. "She paints. And when you touch it… that… happens." Reid finished lamely.

"Is that where you've been all this time?"

"Sortof." Reid said. "I'm trying to figure out what it is." He lied. Maybe that was his priority in the beginning, but now he went to see Iris for the sake of seeing her.

Tyler nodded, understandingly.

"Did you think it was just you?" He asked.

"Maybe." Reid was disappointed and relieved at the same time that he wasn't the only one that saw the images of Iris' paintings. Disappointed because it would have made him special, and the two of them closer. Relieved because it meant that if anything happened because of it he would have someone to help him. "Tyler, I don't know what I'm going to do. But you have to trust me with this. I will figure it out."

Tyler nodded, understandingly, still a little shocked.

"If you need any help…"

"I know. You're here for me. But please, don't tell Caleb or Pogue." Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Please."

"Alright." Tyler said, not questioning his friend any further. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

* * *

"I have suddenly remembered why Tyler's my best friend."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"He's the only one out of all the three of them that trusts me." Reid said, fiddling with one of his shoelaces. "And he understands me, or at least tries to. The others… Well."

"That's what friends are for." Iris said. "What exactly led you to this discovery anyways?"

"Secret." Reid said, knowing that she was the only person he could tell this to without said person getting angry.

"_We dance 'round a ring and suppose, while the secret sits in the middle and knows._" She recited almost mechanically. At Reid's puzzled silence she smiled and added: "Robert Frost."

"Well its lovely." He said sarcastically.

"It was either that or: _What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets._"

"Pleasant." Reid snorted. "Miserable." He mumbled under his breath. Iris laughed.

She resumed her painting. It was coming along slowly, the canvas taking its time to become covered with paint. But it didn't bother Reid, in fact, if he hadn't been sitting on the stool the whole time he would have forgotten all about the painting. Visiting Iris had become part of Reid's routine, the part he liked best.

"Wanna meet him?"

Iris stopped painting.

"Tyler. Want to meet him? He has a day off today, and he's spending it studying. He could use some distraction."

Iris made a sound halfway between a mumble and a squeak. Reid looked at her, a mix of curiosity and mockery on his face.

"What's wrong?" He said in a mock motherly tone. Iris flicked some paint at him.

"I don't like going out and meeting new people. Usually."

"What about me?"

"That's why I said usually." She sighed and put her paintbrush down. "I don't know what happened with you. Maybe it was because you seemed as scared shitless as I was."

Reid recalled briefly his panic at the possibility of being caught using.

"Tyler's nice."

"Doesn't matter." She shook her head dismally. "There are plenty of nice people in the world that I will never meet. Don't think that the thought fuels me to go out and meet them. Being social is just something I don't do."

"Well gorgeous its time for you to learn from the best." He plastered on his trademark smirky grin. Iris didn't react.

"Gorgeous?" she snorted. "Hardly. Reid, please, don't push it. I don't want to go out."

Reid looked at her quizzically. She really didn't want to get away from her dorm. But he was going to change that.

"C'mon." He hopped from his stool. He slipped on his coat, and reached over gingerly to grab her hand. She promptly pulled it back.

"No." She said simply. Reid just stared, knowing she wouldn't stare back (which made it worse,) and croaked out the most heart-wrenching word he had ever pronounced.

"Please?" He whispered. Iris just barely heard it, and he saw her face twitch slightly when he said it. He saw her bite her lip, a habit he had noticed she had when she was making a decision, and sigh, resigned.

"Fine." She grumbled. She stood gingerly from her stool, slipped on a coat and crossed her arms defiantly. "Happy?"

"Very." Reid replied.

* * *

_I have no idea how this chapter just dissapeared... but its back. which is all that matters, right?_


	9. Hypocritical

"Why do you hate going outside so much?" 

"I never said that."

"You clearly did. It took me ten minutes to convince you to come outside. And then you kept making excuses to go back in. That was forty-five minutes ago and we still haven't yet passed the doorstep of your dorm building."

"Quiet."

"No, I will _not _be quiet. I _demand _to know why you don't like being outside!"

"Secret!" Iris mused, and skipped a few feet away from Reid, who was fuming. After a few steps Iris stopped dead in her tracks however, and waited patiently for Reid to catch up to her. When he did she promptly grabbed his arm and clung onto it almost desperately.

"Out of your safety zone?" He mocked. She punched him in the arm. "Ow. Now that was uncalled for."

"No it wasn't. You're being an insensitive hypocritical prick." She stated blatantly, her fingers still tightly intertwined around Reid's arm.

"Ouch." Reid said, mocking hurt. "I don't see how I'm being hypocritical, however."

"_That's a secret I can't tell… Fine. But if one day I don't want to tell you something you have to understand too. Deal." _She said, making an almost convincing replica of Reid's voice. After which she waited patiently.

"Fine. Insensitive _and _hypocritical." He growled. "But I suggest you don't make any more cracks like that because you seem to be holding onto my arm for dear life, and if I _happened _to-"

"Prick."

"You said that already." Reid said with a grin. Iris just groaned and squeezed a little tighter.

"So where we heading, captain?" She mumbled.

"Across the seven seas and into the cave of the _damned._" Reid said dramatically. "No, really, we're heading to the parking lot. Imma give you a lift."

"Lift where?"

"To Spenser, mate."

"You gotta be more specific here. Keep in mind I've almost never been past the school perimeter, the park, and the church."

"Three blocks west of the park. Nine north of the church. It's a ten minute drive, five if were lucky."

"Lucky?" Iris asked as she nervously sat herself down in the passenger's seat and tied her seatbelt on tight.

"Yeah." Reid said, closing his door and revving the motor a few times. "Lucky is when the cops aint around to slow us down." He said with a grin. Before Iris had time to protest or ask any more questions Reid slammed his foot on the gas and the convertible zoomed off.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"No, I do."

Iris was sitting on the sidewalk beside the parking lot in which Reid had messily parked his red convertible. Her legs were crossed, her hands in her coat pockets and she was blatantly refusing to budge. Reid was standing casually beside her, watching the procession of people walking by and observing her.

"Come on, Iris. You can't sit there forever."

"Oh, I'm not planning on sitting here forever, just until you swear to fucking _God _that you will not put me through that _ever _again."

"I swear." Reid recited obediently.

"Say it like you mean it this time."

"I swear to fucking God I will never drive at 150 mph in my convertible while you're in it…"

"150??"

"… Hell, I'll even stay under the speed limit."

Iris grumbled and shakily got to her feet. She stood in front of Reid, a few inches shorter, and crossed her arms in defiance, a fierce pout on her face.

"I do hate you."

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Prove it. Ow."

He rubbed the shin that Iris had just kicked, hard. She glowered at him as he stared playfully at her. He stopped after realizing that first of all she couldn't see it and that secondly she was beyond being tamed with sweet looks. She was past anger, her features delicately treading in terror.

"You alright?" Reid asked softly. Iris attempted a glare before resigning with a sigh and sitting down on the sidewalk again. Reid joined her, not mentioning that he could see up her skirt and trying very hard not to look.

"I'm not much of an adapter." She said lamely. When Reid responded with a puzzled silence she explained. "I like things the way they are. When things change for me, they usually change for the worst. So I avoid change, and adaptations, and all sorts of new things."

"Like what?" Reid hazarded.

"Like going to new places. Meeting new people. Doing new things. Like attempting suicide by being in the same car as a moron who drives 150 mph"

"I resent that." Reid said. "But I know what you mean." Reid laughed lightly at her obvious disbelief. "No, seriously. After my dad died four years ago I wouldn't do anything. It's only two years ago that I actually started living again."

He was talking, of course, about the using. His father had passed away days after Reid's thirteenth birthday, right when he needed the fatherly advice most. He hadn't actually started using until he turned fifteen, when it finally had sunken in that his father was dead and the power was there, still, no matter what happened. The power had become his safety net, a constant presence that never changed or evolved, that reminded him to stay the way he was, for his late father's sake. Which is why he used so much.

"Sorry." Iris said numbly. "About your dad."

Reid shrugged.

"Nothing either of us could have done about it. And your family gives you enough trouble as it is, so stop worrying about mine." He leaned forward and brushed a strand of dark hair from in front of her dark glasses. "What kind of trouble, anyways?"

"What? My family?"

"Ye."

She shrugged.

"My mom stopped caring about everything when her baby boy ran off to God knows where." She said, referring to her brother. "She just wanders around, not really aware of anything. The little spark in the back of her eyes died when Theo walked out of the house. My dad just keeps re-arranging his priorities. 'Till I was four it was his perfect son. Then when my brother spilt that bleach in my eyes it became his beautiful wife. When she just became a zucchini with legs he turned to me again. His poor, blinded, innocent daughter."

She shoved her hand in her coat pocket and from it took a handful of wrinkled papers that she dropped on the sidewalk. Reid picked one up, smoothed it out and read the contents quickly.

"Holy shit." He said, genuine shock in his voice. "Are those actually-"

"Genuine?" Iris nodded. "Yeah. He's been sending me those checks every month for the past two years. Trying to convince me to buy my eyes back."

"That's a lot of zeroes." Reid agreed. "He really wants you to see."

"It's a business decision." Iris said. "He would become the center of attention if ever I could see again. You know, all the fatherly love it requires to spend several millions on his daughter's eyesight."

"Businessman?"

"CEO. Huge company." She stood up. "Gets his popularity for his reputation as a loving husband and father. Gets his reputation on the amount of wasted money spent on us."

"Sounds like a lovely man." Reid mused, standing up. "You ready to go?"

"No." She said blankly. "I'm wondering why I willingly chose to talk to you in the first place instead of just going back to avoidance of all new things in general." She took a step towards Reid until their faces were inches apart and it seems she was staring right into his bright blue eyes. "Tell me, Reid Garwin, what is it about you that's so different that every other person I've met in the past seven years?"

Reid's breath stopped for a half second.

"My charm, of course." Reid droned, grabbing her hand and walking towards the doors.

* * *

_An update! finally! i should post another one before monday, hopefully, and then a break until i get back from touring Europe. This is a long one though, i hope it makes up for my lack of writing for the past three weeks..._


	10. Well duh

"Tyler, Iris. Iris, Tyler." 

"Pleased to meet you." Tyler said absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off his textbook.

"Same here, making your acquaintance has most definitely been the ray of sunshine in this bleak, hopelessly grey day of mine." She replied mechanically.

Reid noticed that she tended to hide within aggressiveness when she was nervous. _case in point. _he thought, slightly amused by Tyler's shocked expression. The latter swallowed the bite of sandwich in his mouth as his eyes ceased being saucers.

"Lovely." He growled at last, quickly adding: "To meet you." He took another bite of his sandwich, swallowed. "And I mean it." He held out his hand, an offering of peace and an invitation to a handshake at the same time. When she didn't budge, he frowned and looked over at Reid, who understood immediately. He pointed to his eyes and shook his head.

Tyler retreated his hand, and stared at Reid curiously. He twitched his head in the direction of his bed, underneath which was laying the painting. Reid nodded. Tyler blinked curiously, and shrugged.

"Nothing else to say? Can I leave now?"

"Not yet, gorgeous, be nice." Reid cooed.

"I resent that." She snapped back at him. "You calling me gorgeous."

"Its better than what he usually calls people." Tyler said. "I mean, at least this is some sort of compliment, rather than a demeaning, almost insulting nickname."

"Right you are, baby boy." Reid said with a grin. Tyler rolled his eyes and scowled audibly. Iris smiled weakly. "Do I spot a smile?" Reid joked. "Has this kidnapping brought some sort of result?"

"Kidnapping?"

"You heard me. Be happy that I finally got gorgeous here to show up or you never would have had the pleasure of meeting her…"

"Which would have of course ruined whatever chance you had of leading a happy life-" Iris began.

"And lead me to no better fate than sorrow, self-destruction and eventually suicide." Tyler said seriously. "Reid, I am now indebted to you for the rest of my life."

Iris laughed.

Reid mentally noted to put something unpleasant and dead in Tyler's bed later on.

"Well we must be going." He said quickly.

"We must?" Iris said innocently. "I don't see why."

"Well I do." Reid snapped. "Bye Tyler. You guys going to Nicky's tonight?"

"Yeah. 'Round eight."

"Can I come?"

She asked it innocently enough, and to Tyler it seemed she really wanted to come. But to Reid it sounded like she was taunting him, pushing his buttons to amuse herself.

"No." He said quietly

"Excuse me?" Iris said, louder.

"I said no. Are you deaf as well as blind?"

She twitched slightly at this, and her mouth curled into a snarl.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? If I want to come I will. And besides I didn't ask you." She snapped coldly.

"Doesn't matter. You aren't coming."

"Says you. I do what I want."

Tyler watched them argue with a curious look on his face. Iris was sitting on one of the beds, arms and legs crossed, head tilted in the direction that Reid's voice was coming from. Reid on the other hand was standing over her, glaring down. He mentally noted that this was the first time a girl argued with Reid, usually they were too busy smothering him with affection to pay attention to his flaws.

"Oh right. And since when do you want to go out and meet people? At a bar?"

"Well, its not exactly a bar-" Tyler started nervously.

"I can change my mind when I want too. And why don't you want me to come anyways? Don't feel like having to watch over a poor, dumb, needy blind girl while you chase some tail?"

"Well duh." Reid snorted.

Iris stayed silent. So did Reid. Tyler watched in amazement. Eventually Iris stood, and pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

"I'll call myself a cab." She said quietly. "It was nice meeting you Tyler." She managed a weak smile in his general direction.

"Iris… I didn't mean-"

"Your portrait is going to be in my school exposition next week if you're interested." She said quietly. "You can get more information at the office."

"Iris!"

But she ignored him and carefully made her way out of the dorm. Reid didn't try to follow her. Instead, once she had left, he let himself fall on the bed and hide his face in his hands.

"Shit."

* * *

_Sorry for the lack of updates, but i'm back now and hopefully ill start updating quickly again!  
_


	11. Internet

Iris' door was locked when Reid arrived at her dorm later that day. He knocked hard. She didn't respond. He called her name, apologized profusely and even begged for her. In the end he took the chance of her noticing and unlocked the door himself. 

She wasn't there.

Reid swore loudly and looked desperately around the room, as if to make sure she wasn't hiding from him.

"Fuck." He said. Sorrowful, he sat on her bed. It was still warm, and the pillow was wet. After minutes of laying his open palm on the damp fabric, trying to capture some of her in her tears, before eventually breaking down and burying his face into it. It smelled like vanilla and salt and paint.

"I really messed up this time." He said into the pillow. "Seriously. I was angry because I thought you were flirting with Tyler to piss me off. I didn't mean anything I said. You aren't dumb. You're hella smarter than I am."

He stayed like that, completely silent and immobile, until he felt he was about to suffocate from lack of air. He looked up and took a deep breath. The air in the room was cold, he noticed, colder than it was when he walked in. He looked around. A window had been opened and her bag was missing from the chair where it was when he came in. A slightly stronger scent of her vanilla perfume lingered.

"Fuck!" Reid swore, and jumped to his feet. He had missed her. She had come in while he was lying there, grabbed her stuff and left without noticing him.

He used to unlock the door, making sure to lock it behind him, and booked it down the hall to the staircase. He ran down them, skipping a few and nearly breaking his neck when he reached the first floor and skidded to a stop.

She wasn't anywhere to be seen outside the school. Nor around the block or down the street. She had disappeared.

"Fuck!" Reid said again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He stomped his foot. An old lady walking by glared at him. He glared back, shoved his hands in his pocket and walked back to Spenser.

"So what's the deal with you and Iris anyways?"

"I dunno Tyler. Its really fucked up right now."

Tyler mumbled something through a mouthful of Lucky Charms. Once he swallowed, he repeated.

"But that shit you said. You didn't really mean it, did you?"

"No way." Reid said with a sigh, taking a bite of his own breakfast. "I've seen girls who can see that are blinder than she is. I dunno what got into me."

"Your ego." Tyler said simply.

"Fuck you." Reid replied, and took another bite.

"No, seriously. That's what happens when someone makes you feel inferior. You snap back. And, honestly, you do a great job at killing spirits."

"I said fuck you." Reid snapped. Tyler shrugged. The two ate in silence for a few minutes. "Lets play a game."

"Excuse me?" Tyler said, curious.

"I said; lets play a game."

"mmkay. I'm not suspicious at all here, fyi."

"Shut up. Its called, Whats wrong with me."

"A lot of things."

"Shut up. Basically you say something that's wrong with you. You go first."

Tyler looked down at his half eaten bowl of cereal.

"I'm seventeen and yet still enjoy Lucky Charms."

"Fine."

"What about you?"

"I sleep with socks."

Tyler snorted.

"I still own Pokemon boxers."

"I enjoy the smell of acrylic paint."

"I sing Christina Aguilera songs in the shower."

"I'm a virgin."

Tyler choked on his cereal. He turned bright red, coughed three times, spit out the wad of cereal and marshmallow onto the table in front of Reid, who made a face.

"Ew."

"A _virgin_? This is some kind of sick, twisted, Reid joke isn't it?" Tyler said between coughs.

"Nope." Reid shook his head. "Sorry."

Tyler stayed silent, mouth slightly agape as he looked over his blonde friend."

"You are serious?" He asked, suspicious.

"Yeah."

"Hm." Tyler nodded. Silence ensued, but not for long. "And why did you decide to share this with me after the rumors of your promiscuous carnal romps spreads around the school?"

"Because." Reid struggled to remember the reasons Iris gave. "Because I felt like I needed a specific personality to be able to belong with you guys. And that since the whole womanizer thing sort of happened by accident, I figured I would go with it. And I'm telling you now because I've recently come to the conclusion that being genuine is important, and that if I lie to the rest of the world I might as well be honest to my three best friends."

Tyler watched him carefully for a long time.

"Is this Iris' influence?" Reid nodded. "Well I like it. And you should go apologize because she has to be one of the most interesting people I've ever met. She really likes you, you really like her, and you've broken her heart. It's driving you insane."

"I know." Reid took a bite of Lucky Charms. "I've been looking for her for three straight days. She isn't anywhere. It _is _driving me insane."

"Well I know where you can find her." Tyler said. "Her art show."

"I cant go there." Reid said. "Really, I cant."

"Of course you can. And you have to."

"Oh really. And why is this?"

"Because she painted you. And even if it was a normal painting you have the moral obligation to go. But this painting is different. If someone touches it, they see you-"

"Fuck." Reid said breathlessly.

"Yeah. So you have to go to make sure no one touches it and discovers you. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, except I don't know when it is."

Tyler snorted.

"Reid. Internet."

* * *

_I just realized recently that there is no indication in the movie of Reid being a manwhore. Yet, in all the fanfiction, he is portrayed as one. Hm. And another thing. Something that angers me consists of people who add the story to either their favs or their alerts and yet do not review. Case in point: 41 alerts, 38 reviews. Gah. And that's not counting the people who have reviewed more than once. So review! Review! Review!_


	12. Theodore Evans

"Tyler, how is this going to work?" 

"You find her, recite your whole amazing speech, get her forgiveness, and make up. Its simple enough."

"Yeah. I guess."

Reid had put on a dress shirt and a tie, and had ironed both. His hair was clean, and he was wearing sensible shoes. Tyler had commented that Iris, of course, couldn't see, and Reid had replied that it was a form of respect, whether she saw it or not.

"Man, she really has had a positive influence." He snorted at Reid. "Don't glare at me. I like it."

Reid was fiddling with his tie now. He had a speech written on a paper napkin in his pocket and he felt like it weighed a ton and was dragging him down. He had considered flowers, but Tyler had convinced him not to. _Overkill, mate._

"Ok. So where is she?" He asked his friend nervously.

"I dunno. Hate to break it to you, Reid, but she isn't the most peculiar person physically. It might take a while to find her."

"Well I don't have a while." Reid snapped. "I'm going to look some more."

"And what do I do?"

"You're at an art show. Admire the art."

And with that he stepped into the crowd, weaving his way through the crowds of people and playing his speech over and over in his head.

Iris I promise you with all my heart and soul that I didn't mean any of those things I said. You know me, I'm moronic, I don't think before I speak, hell, sometimes I don't think at all… Please forgive me, I know I did wrong but I need you to forgive me... I cant live knowing that you hate me for the stupidest thing ive ever done…

"Lovely painting, m'dear!" A squeal came from nearby. Reid approached slightly, attracted by the only coherent noise in the room.

"Thank you!" A familiar voice replied happily.

Read moved faster, weaving through the crowd more quickly until he reached a small space in the crowd that surrounded a painting.

With a slight twinge of grief he realized her had never seen the painting completed. He found it beautiful, not because it was him that was portrayed but because it was Iris who had painted it and the painting caught little parts of her in the strokes of colour. The first thing he noticed was a long brown hair caught underneath a layer of blue paint.

"Iris!"

He almost ran to through the crowd to reach her. He noticed, sadly, that she seemed blissful, even happy. She was wearing the same dress she had been when he had met her for real. Her hair was long and wild, her slender fingers were wrapped around a plastic glass of water and a peaceful smile was on her face. Whenever someone spoke to her she would skip towards them happily. But when he spoke she froze.

"Iris! Please…" He ran towards her and had stopped a few feet from her. She had stiffened.

"Reid." She said softly.

"Iris I promise you with all my heart that-"

But he froze in mid sentence when a figure approached them and put a hand on Iris' shoulder protectively.

"Anything wrong, love?" The person asked smoothly.

Reid's mouth had dried out, it was open and he was unable to close it. Behind Iris was a man, who looked at least five years older than the two of them. He had long, shaggy dark hair and peculiarly light blue eyes. He was looking over at Reid with a look of intense hatred in his eyes.

"Oh, no. Nothing wrong at all, Theo." Iris said, the blissful smile returning to her face. "This is just a… an acquaintance of mine. I didn't think he would come. Reid, this is my brother, Theodore. Theo, this is Reid Garwin."

"Ah. Mr. Garwin. Your reputation precedes you." Theo said in a drawl. "You haven't fallen under his spell, have you love?"

Iris just snorted. Reid's heart snapped in two.

"Well. Uh, I just wanted to congratulate you on your exposition Iris." Reid blurted out. "I'll uh, see you around."

"Sure, Reid." Iris said, before returning her attention to her brother.

Reid was engulfed into the crowd while the happy family reunion went on behind a curtain of people. Through a gap between a pretty blonde and her olive-skinned father Reid saw Theo placed a few fingers on her painting of him. Before Reid could react however, Iris' brother had placed his full palm on the paint and was looking through the crowd and smirking an evil smirk in Reid's direction.

* * *

"Underage drinking is illegal."

"Fuck you."

"Reid."

"That's me."

"Put down the vodka."

"Fuck. You."

Reid took another swig of the now half empty bottle of vodka and grimaced.

"Reid, seriously, put it down." Tyler reached for the bottle. Reid scowled. His eyes turned black, he raised his hand and Tyler was thrown against their dorm wall with a thud.

"What the fuck." Tyler started as he stood up, wiping drywall off his shirt. "… Is your problem?" He finished. Reid shrugged. "You have to stop using like that. It isn't healthy."

Swig.

"Fuck you."

"Ok, fine." Tyler sat on a desk chair opposite Reid. "Lets recap whats happening then. You found her, tried to start your speech, but was interrupted by a long-lost brother, to which she devoted her entire attention and completely ignored you. Correct?"

Reid grunted.

"Well what's the big deal then? Give her a month and they'll be sick of each other the way siblings always are. Then go find her again…"

"Its not that simple."

"Oh, and why not? I think you failed to explain this part to me."

"Because I seriously screwed over her brother when we were in junior high. He was this hot-shot journalist for the newspaper, and he published this article and I remembered reading it before. So I confronted him, told him I would tell his editors. he begged me not to but I did it anyways"

"Wow."

"Yeh, I know. So he was fired and his reputation ruined. This is actually what ruined Iris' life. He then left the country and didn't tell his family. And now he's back. And he saw the painting, and he touched it."

"What?"

"And he gave me this evil, evil fucking look. I don't know what I'm gonna do Tyler. He hates me. He's never going to let Iris get near me again."

"But he actually touched the painting? Reid!" He stood up, panicky. "The whole covenant is at risk here! Not just you! Your stupid antics can now cost us our whole existence!"

"I don't care." Reid said placidly. He took a swig of vodka. "I just want Iris back."

"Well we have to do something about her brother first."

"Good luck. Iris isn't speaking to me, remember?"

"Well she doesn't hate me yet, so we can organize a meeting somewhere. You have her phone number, right? I'll call her and ask her if she wants to go get a coffee or something. Anything. Then you go and find out _exactly _what he saw."

Reid was slightly amazed by Tyler's sudden plan-making abilities. But maybe it was the alcohol speaking.

"Kay." He said.

* * *

_Ok, i admit it, i got my idea from spiderman 3. I know there was some bigger, better, more amazing idea i had, but i forgot it... :( sorry!  
_


	13. Cigarette

"Iris! Hey, its Tyler, remember me?" 

Reid could hear a buzz from the other line that he supposed was Iris.

"Yeah, yeah, Reid's friend… No, of course not!"

Tyler put a finger in front of his mouth and mouthed _quiet _to Reid, who rolled his eyes and inched closer to hear the conversation.

"I've been ok… I dropped by at your art expo yesterday… You do some really neat stuff!"

_Aww thank you!_

Iris' voice was almost a whisper to Reid.

"Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and get a coffee sometime… sometime like tomorrow?"

Iris buzzed on the other line.

"Going out with your brother? Reid never mentioned that… Oh he's just gotten back from London? Well then I wont try to separate the two of you… How about Sunday? Excellent! I'll pick you up in front of your school at… one? Sweet! See you then!"

And he hung up. Reid sighed loudly.

"You'd think she'd be less suspicious of me." Tyler stated. Reid grunted, and tried to find a few more drops in the bottom of his vodka bottle. Tyler grabbed it and threw in in a neighbouring garbage can. "So we have a window of opportunity here. Sunday. One oclock. You go see what there is to find in her apartment. Alright."

"Whatever."

"You know for someone that claims to care about her so much, you really don't put any effort into winning her back, huh?"

"Do I even need to say it again?"

"I know I did wrong but I need you to forgive me... I cant live knowing that you hate me for the stupidest thing ive ever done…" Tyler mimicked. "You seem to be living fine to me."

The bottle that moments ago had been in a garbage can now smashed against a side of Tyler's head, disintegrating into a million shimmering pieces. Tyler calmly removed shards of glass from the side of his temple and glanced at Reid.

"Sorry." Tyler said. "I shouldn't talk like that. It's my bad. But you know if we didn't have this power I would most likely be dead now from excessive bleeding due to bits of glass in the side of my fucking head."

"If we didn't have this power I couldn't make bottles float from garbage cans to smack you in the side of your fucking head. And you're right you shouldn't talk like that. Prick."

The pieces of glass all floated up from the carpet and into the garbage can. The bleeding wounds on the side of Tyler's head closed up and he wiped the blood with his sleeve.

"Great. Blood stains, y'now."

"Fuck you."

"You know how many times you've said that to me in the past few days?"

"Don't know don't care." Reid stuffed his hand in his pockets and looked around for a bit. "Got any cigarettes?"

"I don't smoke, Reid. And neither do you."

"I figured it might be time to start."

Tyler threw a dictionary, conveniently lying on the desk he was sitting by, at Reid's head. It bounced, barely fazing him.

"We have a very violent relationship, no?" Reid said passively, pulling a single cigarette from his pocket. He placed it between his lips and it wiggled up and down while Reid looked for a lighter. He looked up at Tyler. "Got a-"

"Lighter? No." he leaned over and pulled the cigarette from between Reid's lips. It ignited between his fingers and fell to the ground as ash.

"Listen. You stay sane till Sunday, capiche? No booze, no drugs, no cigarettes and no stupidity. If you want Iris back – God knows for what fucking motive, you stay clean or else I'm not going to do shit for you, got it?"

"Okie dokie."

* * *

Sunday came in a flurry of ice-cold wind and unseasonable temperatures. Tyler's truck was heated, of course, but the trunk wasn't. As Tyler waited patiently for Iris in the driver's seat at 12:57, checking his watch every few seconds, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

_Hurry the f-fuck up._

"Sorry Reid," Tyler said with a grin. "I'm all ready. She's the one that's taking her sweet time…"

_Fuck you. Do you know how fucking c-cold it is in here._

"I can only imagine." Tyler mused, playing with the zipper on his coat. He looked up, and saw a familiar face adorned with dark glasses making its way out of the main building's entrance. "Oh lookie. Here she comes. See you soon."

Before Reid could swear again into his cellphone Tyler had hung up and was out of his car and on his way to greet Iris.

"Hey!" He said with a grin when he approached her. She turned to him and beamed.

Iris was dressed in a short blue dress and black leggings. She was wearing tall brown boots and a coat the same colour. Her hair was long and wild, as always, and she had a shiny green scarf around her neck, hiding part of her neck.

"Hey Tyler!" She grinned. "Good to see you!"

They hugged. Tyler was shocked, slightly. Iris noticed it, and laughed as she pulled away.

"Sorry, I've been really happy since the whole thing with my brother… And happy comes with cuddly and etc!"

"Yeah? Well good for both of you!" Tyler grinned crookedly. "I'm an only child, so the joys of reuniting with siblings isn't for me…"

"Awe." Iris made a pouty face. "Sorry. Its really an amazing feeling."

"I'm sure, but wait until you taste the soy-chocolate-macchiatto-mocha-iced-coffee-latte-supreme they serve at the coffee shop by Spenser. Its heaven passed through a blender."

"Sounds divine! And with a name like that you know its good!"

Tyler escorted her back to his truck, and opened the passenger side door for her.

"I promise that I drive the speed limit." He said as he closed the door.

She laughed as she shut the door.

Tyler sat himself down in the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition. The engine purred to a start, with a small beep accompanying the flashing of a small red light. Tyler frowned and looked it over.

"What is it?" Iris asked, attracted by the beeping.

"The trunk isn't closed right. I'll be right back."

Tyler stepped out of the car, walked to the back of the car and opened the truck.

"Fuck!" Reid whispered, taking a deep breath as he uncoiled himself out of the trunk. Tyler smirked. Reid glared, and hopped out of the trunk.

"This is stupid." He whispered. Tyler shrugged.

"It had to be done." He said. Reid gave him the middle finger, then crouched.

"Just get on with it."

"Will do. I'll call you when we start heading back."

Reid grunted in reply.

Tyler slammed the trunk and returned to the front seat.

"All fixed." Tyler said brightly. "Lets get a move on, shall we?"


	14. Immature

As Reid walked up the stairs leading to the fifth floor, the blind floor, he reminded himself of the simple, concise plan he and Tyler had come up with, the one that had made him lie in the back of his friend's truck for twenty minutes. 

He stretched his arms in front of him as he walked. He was stiff. For such a big truck the trunk was surprisingly small.

The door to the fifth floor creaked. As Reid stepped into the hall, hands in his pockets, he froze.

"So whaddaya think of her brother?"

"I bet he's gorgeous… And his voice!"

A group of girls squealed and giggled and jumped up and down as Reid stepped back into the staircase.

_Shit._

This didn't account into the plan. Reid scowled and looked at the girls. They didn't look about to leave anytime soon. He sat on the top step. Tyler was going to have his head.

He perked up a little.

Unless…

* * *

The wind blew harder up high on the fifth floor. The building was on a slant and it bothered Reid.

A gust of wind blew hard and Reid nearly fell off. It was a last-second desperate grab for the ledge that stopped him from falling over and becoming a blond smear on the parking lot five stories below.

He hung there, one hand gripping the brick ledge and the rest hanging in mid-air, and cursed Tyler's stupid plan.

Quickly he hoisted himself up to the ledge, and inched closer to Iris' window. He knew where it was because of the view he always looked at when she was painting him and words weren't said.

The window opened with a click thanks to his black eyes. He swung one leg over the ledge, then the other, and found himself standing in the familiar, but eerily clean, room.

"So big brother decided to hire a cleaning lady, eh?" He said to no one, as he examined the transformation. Both beds were made, the floor was cleared and the paint stains in the carpet had been removed. There was a faint smell of paint thinner hidden by lavender air freshener. A bare easel was propped up against a wall, and a wooden crate held all the paintings that once were stacked under her bed. The walls were still covered in paint.

He leafed through each painting in the crate and finally found his. He took it out of the crate, carefully, and placed it flat on the floor. He sat cross-legged in front of it, closed his eyes and placed his open palm onto it.

The odd thing about this painting is that it had sound.

He could see himself sitting on the little stool, grinning, sometimes looking out the window and sometimes falling backwards and landing on the floor. He could hear Iris' laugh in the background, and the soft buzz of her voice when she said anything, and his loud reply. He watched the droplets of paint float around, falling when his eyes turned back to normal.

Then the single scenes ceased, and he relived momentarily he and Iris lying on her bed as he vented about his friends. And he heard her rant about her brother again.

He remembered the bitterness in her voice, and how elated she seemed now in comparison.

Then the images faded away.

He considered bringing the painting with him. But that would seem suspicious. So instead he put it back in the crate, and proceeded to examine the room for traces of anything remotely useful.

He found a new number on the speed dial of her phone. He copied it down on a sheet of paper he found lying around and put it in his pocket.

Nothing else had changed, besides the cleanliness. There was nothing compromising in here, else than his painting. And the now looming certainty that Theodore Evans was onto him, and with a vengeance.

I'm, too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it huuurts… 

Reid swore and pulled his cell phone out from his pocket. He flipped it open.

"Hello?" He said lamely into the receiver.

"Abort! Abort!" Came a hiss from the other line.

"Tyler? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Abort I say! Iris mentioned five minutes ago that her brother was going to drop off some cds for her at her apartment at around two-ish… Which is now!"

Reid looked at his watch. It was, indeed, two. And he could here footsteps outside.

"Book it! Now!" Tyler hissed into the phone, then hung up.

Reid panicked slightly. He looked around the room, looking for a place to hide. Finding nothing, he looked towards the ajar window. With a glance it was open, and within seconds he was outside, standing on the parking lot, having jumped out the window.

He looked up. He could see the top of Theo's head through the open window. He resisted the urge to grab a rock and throw it at him. That would be, after all, very immature.

* * *

_Finally i get around to updating. Sorry it took so long! School has been surprisingly tedious recently. But I'm going to do my best to update sooner from now on! On another note, to explain Tyler's self-healing in a past chapter, i think it spawned from the idea that since they could move objects without touching them and jump off cliffs without being hurt and become immaterial (Caleb and his car when coming in contact with the truck) it wouldn't be crazy to assume they could heal a tad faster than average, or simply be harder to injure. And when it comes to the aging, aging is caused directly by the using, so using shouldn't be able to stop it, whereas sealing up little scratches should be easy for the boys. Thats the end of my rant/explanation. Keep on reviewing!  
_


	15. Doom

"You didn't find _anything_?"

"Next time you'll be the one climbing on ledges, buddy. Just be thankful I didn't get caught."

Tyler sighed.

"So what do we do? The only plan we had failed miserably-"

Interrupting his woeful rant, the phone rang shrilly. Reid reached over from the bed he was laying on, picked it up and greeted whoever it was on the other line.

"Speak." He grunted.

"What a lovely way to greet those who bother calling you, Reid Garwin."

Reid straightened up and moved into a seating position, as Tyler, curious, moved closer to listen.

"Who is this?"

"Theodore Evans, Mr. Garwin. I am calling to offer you a deal, you see. In exchange for the… unfortunate circumstances during which we last met, I feel that I do in fact deserve something in return for the atrocities you put me through."

"You cheated, man. You plagiarized someone else's article, you fully deserve whatever I did to you-"

"Don't interrupt me, stupid brat." Theo hissed. Tyler mouthed _Oh shit. _"Tomorrow you will meet me at the top of the tallest building in town – I'll leave you the job of figuring which one that is. Then, you will bring a video camera. And we shall stand on the roof, and you shall use and I shall film it."

Reid laughed out loud.

"Dream on, motherfu-"

"I asked you not to interrupt me, brat. Doing so stops me from finishing my sentences and in such a fashion stops me from mentioning what will happen if you fail to do what I say… I believe that you have certain feelings towards my younger sister, no? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that you will be quite devastated if ever something was to …happen to her. No?"

Both teenage boys were speechless, Tyler's eyes as wide as dinner plates and staring into space. Reid's mouth was open to a comical O and it took him a few long minutes to snap out of his trance to finally reply, and when he did it was in a small, broken voice.

"What?"

"You heard me. Do as I say or lovely, loving, trusting Iris will suffer an untimely doom." Theo laughed. "My, I sound like a costumed super villain, do I not? Well, no matter. I shall see you tomorrow then."

And he hung up. The phone was still in Reid's hand, and it was twitching. He blinked, slowly. Tyler swallowed hard.

"This isn't good." He finally said.  



	16. Fix

The night came along with the looming shadow of the deed that was to be done the next day. Everything seemed to relate in some way to using, to Iris, to roofs or to videotapes. After a panic attack, Tyler calmed down enough to attempt coming up with a plan. Calling Caleb was out of the question, Reid announced. No way was he stooping down that low, and, besides, when He was sent out to rescue his damsel in distress it nearly killed them both, and Reid was not risking Iris' life for the sake of the covenant.

"That's stupid." Tyler responded to that comment. Reid didn't answer, and instead continued pacing around the room, as he usually did when words failed him.

Plans that they had concocted up till now involved strange and ultimately useless theories. Panic, Tyler soon realized, made Reid unstable, and unable to think. He never would have guessed, seeing he was usually the cool and collected one too busy making cracks to worry.

Now he was literally freaking out, ripping out his hair and such. His eyes were darting around madly and he was biting his lip until it bled and wringing his hands. Tyler wouldn't have been surprised if he burst into tears, seeing how everything about Reid was a shock nowadays.

"We need a plan."

It was two in the morning. Reid had been repeating that same refrain every five minutes since Theo called, which was six hours ago.

"I know, man. But what do we do?"

"I don't fucking know. But we need something. Anything. Fuck, shoot him in the fucking head from a mile away I don't care, just, just…."

He groaned and kept on pacing as Tyler watched.

"We could just do what he says." Tyler hazarded. Reid stopped pacing and stared at him with confusion.

"And risk the Covenant?"

"Well, we would get rid of the tape after. Once Iris is safe…"

"Hm. That could work." He began to pace again, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You could ambush him from outside, as soon as he walks out. Grab the tape. Burn it. And we convince Iris to go somewhere safe…"

The last part he knew wouldn't work. Iris was blind, both figuratively and literally, to her brother's apparent evil. She loved him so, she said it herself. No way would she think wrong of him. But maybe once she was shown proof she would change her ways. The only thing that mattered now was making sure she lived past tomorrow.

"Sounds like a plan." Tyler agreed. "So tomorrow… Video tape, ambush, arson, safety, and all will be well?"

"Basically…"

* * *

It was blisteringly cold today, and even more so at the top of the tallest building in town. Theo was late, Reid commented, staring down at the city below, trying not to freak out too much. Soon Theo would be here, and with him the threat of Iris' death.

A door sounded somewhere on the roof, and out walked Theo, looking polished and clean, grinning. Reid gripped the camera tighter in his hand and prepared to speak but Theo did so first.

"You'll love the feeling, love. The weightlessness, the clean, clear air…"

And behind him walked Iris, tentative and clutching his hand. Reid's heart missed a beat and he dropped the video camera. It made a sharp noise hitting the cement and both Iris and her brother twitched and looked his way.

"Ah yes, Mr. Garwin. So nice of you to join us…"

"Garwin?" Iris said, panicking slightly. She gripped Theo's hand tighter. "Why is he here? Theo!"

"Don't worry, love." Theo said in a purr. "He is just here because we have an arrangement… I promise, after this you will never hear of him again."

Iris seemed to calm down at this, which broke Reid's heart. But he straightened up and spoke in a firm, angry voice.

"I'm here, Theo." He said with a snap. "Now what?"

Theodore led Iris around the roof until they were both facing Reid, right behind them was the edge of the roof and the nothingness below. Iris sniffed and smiled, commenting in a whisper that Theo was right, the air was wonderful up here.

"I know, love." He said kindly, then turned to Reid. "Throw it here."

Reid complied, and picked up the camera and tossed it at him. Theo caught it in one hand and turned it on, setting it on a tripod attached to it. After doing so he reached into his pocket and from it removed a pristine looking gun, that he pointed to Iris' head without however touching it. He smirked.

"Show me the magic." He said with a sick grin. Then, he stuck a wire in the side of the camera and pressed a button on a remote attached to it. Reid recognized the contraption as a wireless transmitter, which he assumed was now connected to the internet, live.

He gulped. There goes their plan.

He fumbled with his hands in his pocket. His only hope was to kill time enough for Tyler to get suspicious and come up to back him up.

"Why do you want to do this, Theo?" He asked shakily. Theo frowned, and shook his trigger finger, as if to say not in front of the lady. "There has to be a motive, right?"

He was shaking, his palms were clammy and shoved deep into his pockets, making fists around bits of paper inside. He stared at Theo, head on, not able to twitch his eyes away from his for a second, lest he see Iris. Having her here made him nervous, worse, made him panic.

"Reid, Reid. If I wanted to talk I would, but I don't... You haven't forgotten why you are here, have you?"

Casually, he looked over his shoulder and into the city below, looking back up to his sister, meaningfully. Reid gulped. He opened his mouth to speak, but the other was quicker.

"You promised that if I paid you twenty thousand dollars you would leave my sister alone..."

"What?" The two of them cried out at the same time. Reid, outraged, Iris, horrified.

"I said yes, of course, anything to get him away from you and causing you more pain..."

"I did not!" Reid yelled, panicking slightly as Iris started to shake.

"You did, Reid. I would have been willing to pay more, of course, but-"

"You bastard!" Iris screamed.

She was crying now, big, wet tears streaming down her pale cheeks and into her scarf, jiggling up and down as they dripped from her shaking. Theo made sure to move the gun slightly, to avoid her noticing it.

"How could you?" She sobbed, mournfully. "I trusted you... God, how could I be so fucking stupid!"

It was at this point that Reid had the glimmer of hope that she did not really hate him, that she was merely pissed as hell at what he had done. But, if she still liked him before, there was no chance of it now.

"Iris, I..."

"Don't even bother saying anything! I don't want to hear it... I know what it is already... I don't need any more of your bullshit, any of your fucking lies or stupid little quirks that you think are so amazing... I'm sick of all of it, your pretentiousness, the stupid way you say things, the smirk in your voice when you compliment anything... The secrets you make up to make me happy, the things you say to make me smile, the truths that come out when you don't want them to and make you seem that much more real... I hate it! I hate everything about you, every word, every sound, every smell every touch... Everything!"

And she dropped to her knees and buried her head in her hands, sobbing loudly. It took both of them by surprise, but Reid reacted first and ran towards Theo and grabbed the gun before he could point it any lower. Theo, with a grunt, grabbed the gun as well, and they tugged it between themselves silently for a moment until Reid lost his balance and toppled over, knocking over the camera as he did so.

When he looked up again Theo was pointing the gun at Iris' head and staring, with a mad look in his eyes, at the camera, now broken.

"You just had to go and mess it up, didn't you?" He roared. "Even after every fucking thing I said? Are you that fucking stupid?"

Iris looked up with a sniff.

"Uh, Theo? Are you ok?" She asked meekly.

"No I'm not fucking ok! This fucking idiot can't do a single thing properly! And now..." He had calmed down, distinctly, but the hand holding the gun was still clenched tight and shaking. "You are both going to die for it."

"What?"

Theo pulled the trigger right as Reid shouted and tackled him. The bullet went way off, zooming inches away from the top of Iris' head, still getting a yelp out of her. Reid had Theo pinned to the floor, but Theo had a gun and was still shooting wildly with it. A bullet grazed Reid's ear and he pulled back instinctively, long enough for Theo to get to his feet and point the gun to his head.

"Now, you die, freak-" He began, only to be interrupted by a smack in the back of the head with the camcorder.

Iris' brave, though unsensed, action only sufficed to anger him more, and he spun around to point the gun at her. And his finger must have slipped, because before he had the time to say something witty he had shot, and Iris was bleeding from a gash in her neck.

The truth of what he had done set in on Theo as Iris fell to her knees and bled on the cement, and Reid took this opportunity to throw him over the edge of the building. There was no screaming, and he didn't hear the splat because he was busy trying to get all of Iris' blood back in the wound.

"Come on, come on..." He said through gritted teeth, blood on his hands and Iris' wrapped around his. The blood kept gushing out in bright red streams, and he could feel Iris getting dizzy in his arms.

"Please stay alive." He said to her eventually, when she was curled up against his chest and coughing out blood. "God, please..."

And then it dawned on him that the camcorder had broken, and that he would much rather have to explain the covenant to her than attend her funeral.

Her pulse slowed, and his eyes went black. He had never healed before, but Caleb had claimed to be able to do it, and figured it was possible. He placed his hand on her head, and whispered awkwardly, because he didn't know what else to say, "Fix."

And there was the gentle buzz from his hand telling him it was working, and though the blood was still there the wound was not. She was unconscious at this point, eyes closed behind the dark glasses, and Reid thought it was better if he was not found here when the police, obviously investigating Theo's apparent suicide, would come. Too many awkward questions.

He kissed the top of her head, half-heartedly unwrapped his arms from around her, and carefully walked through the blood and rubble and down the stairs, where Tyler was still waiting, oblivious.

* * *

As redemption for not updating in a long time, I give you a long, long chapter. I was going to divide into three parts, but I got lazy, and figured I might as well post it all at once. Also, I've been toying with two different endings. Should I post both? Because, ideally, this is the before-last chapter.

Looking forward to your reviews, opinions, flames, raves, imput... whatever you want to give!


	17. Idiot: Alternate ending number 1

Hospitals scared Reid. They smelled like death, formaldehyde and disinfectant. Hospitals reminded him of when Pogue was comatose thanks to Chase, and the covenant was risking everything. Now, it was worse, because he knew that killing off someone might not fix Iris.

The doctor in white had a clipboard and waltzed by, barely looking at Reid. He mumbled something about sedatives and told a nurse to clean up room 406. Reid coughed, and he looked up.

"Can I help you?" He said coldly.

Reid stood from the cushiony waiting room chair and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Iris Evans." He said, keeping his stutter deep in his throat.

"Ah, yes." He flipped through the pages of the clipboard. "The girl found on the roof where the jumper was."

"Yeah. That's her."

"You're the first one to come see her. You know that?"

Reid suspected it, but just shrugged. The doctor raised an eyebrow, and looked back to his sheets.

"Well the trauma is pretty bad, what with her brother jumping off the building… But else than that she is fine. Her cuts have been bandaged, she's got an IV… Her eyes are still bandaged up, but she should be able to see soon enough."

Reid choked on his gum.

"What?"

"I said that she still has gauze on her eyes, because she must have gotten some dust in it or something. We cleaned it out, and soon, really soon, we'll take it off and she will be able to see."

"…" Reid's only response was a shocked silence, mouth slightly open. His gum fell out, the doctor watched and frowned.

He gave him the room number and left. Reid stood in the middle of the aisle, forcing annoyed staff to move around him, deep in thought. How could Iris see? She was blind… Unless when he healed the wounds he had gone a bit overboard, what with the lack of control he had over his powers, still.

"Excuse me, sir. You're going to have to move."

A pretty blonde nurse pushing a wheel chair nudged him lightly. Reid apologized and sat down again, putting order in his thoughts. After a few minutes, he finally decided to stand.

* * *

The hospital room was too clean to be natural, with all curtains, walls, bed sheets and everything else a sterile white on which blood would show too much if ever it were spilt. Iris's bed wasn't the exception to the color-less rule, and as she slept she seemed as pale as the sheets and gauze wrapped around her eyes and neck.

As he stepped into the room Reid started to panic. When he saw her lying there he thought for a second that she was dead and he was too late. But then she twitched and his heart restarted.

He took a single step forward, not wanting to wake her, and when the floor did not creak under his feet he took a few more until he was right by her side and he could see her chest rise and fall under the sheets. He sat on the stool that was by the bedside table and watched her for a little longer.

He brushed some dark hair from her face, and felt the rough gauze blocking her eyes. After a little hesitation, he unwrapped it slowly and watched her eyes become free for the first time since he had met her.

He smiled. For the first time he felt as if he was actually looking at her truly, not hidden behind the dark glass she usual forced herself to wear.

He thought back at what the doctor had said and frowned. Was it even possible? Who knew, the power could do things that the covenant still had no idea of…

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He opened it, it was Tyler. He looked over at Iris, who had begun to twitch slightly. He turned off the phone and leaned in closer to her.

Iris yawned, stretched and her eyes fluttered open. As they did and the room came into focus she shrieked slightly, and sunk back into the pillow, panicking visibly. She looked over at Reid, and before she could open her mouth to scream something, anything, but Reid was quicker.

"You're a liar, blue-eyes." He said softly, with a smile on his face.

Iris blinked, and closed her mouth slightly, pursing her lips. She said nothing, for a long time, and stared down at her hands and the small scratches all over them. Finally, much to Reid's delight, she looked up, and with the back of her hand wiped the dew from her eyes.

"You're an idiot, Reid."

* * *

This would be the first ending of the two I have living in my head. Feedback appreciated, both now and after I post the second one. For the record, this is the one that I'm thinking is the permanent one, whereas the second is the true alternate.

R&R, and so on and so forth.


	18. Dead: Alternate ending number 2

Hospitals scared Reid. They smelled like death, formaldehyde and disinfectant. They reminded him of when Pogue was comatose thanks to Chase, and the covenant was risking everything. Now, it was worse, because he knew that killing off someone might not fix Iris.

The doctor in white had a clipboard and waltzed by, barely looking at Reid. He mumbled something about sedatives and told a nurse to clean up room 406. Reid coughed, and he looked up.

"Can I help you?" He said coldly.

Reid stood from the cushiony waiting room stair and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Iris Evans." He said, keeping his stutter deep in his throat.

"Ah, yes." He flipped through the pages of the clipboard. "The girl found on the roof where the jumper was."

"Yeah. That's her."

"You're the first one to come see her. You know that?"

Reid suspected it, but just shrugged. The doctor raised an eyebrow, and looked back to his sheets.

"Well the trauma is pretty bad, what with her brother jumping off the building… But else than that she is fine. Her cuts have been bandaged, she's got an IV… Her eyes are still bandaged up, but she should be able to see soon enough."

Reid choked on his gum.

"What?"

"I said that she still has gauze on her eyes, because she must have gotten some dust in it or something. We cleaned it out, and soon, really soon, we'll take it off and she will be able to see."

"…Okay."

The doctor gave him the room number and left. Reid stood in the middle of the aisle, forcing annoyed staff to move around him, deep in thought. How could Iris see? She was blind… Unless when he healed the wounds he had gone a bit overboard, what with the lack of control he had over his powers, still.

"Excuse me, sir. You're going to have to move."

A pretty blonde nurse pushing a wheel chair nudged him lightly. Reid apologized and sat down again, putting order in his thoughts. After a few minutes, he finally decided to stand.

* * *

The hospital room was cold, the walls white as snow but not as pretty. The sheets, the floors, everything was icy and sterile, so different than the warm girl lying in the bed, the gauze that Reid assumed used to be around her eyes rolled in her hand. Her big green eyes, that Reid was looking at for the first time since he had met her, were staring outside, oblivious to Reid's entrance.

"Hey, Reid." She said quietly when he walked in.

Reid barely responded, in shock still. He approached the bed and sat on a stool close by. When he did, Iris turned to face him. She was tired, you could see so on her face and in her eyes, who were greener than he could have expected.

"How did this happen?" He finally said.

"How did what happen?" She asked. Her eyes avoided his, and were staring at the creases in her fingernails.

"Your eyes. You can see."

Iris sighed, and looked up at him for the first time.

"I always could." She mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"You heard me." She sniffed. "I've never been blind. I saw you do your… thing in the park. I was afraid of you. I thought you were going to kill me if you knew that I saw you. So I pretended to be blind. You fell for it."

"But… the school?" He croaked.

"Just a normal school."

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, and when they made eye contact again she was crying silently.

"But you wouldn't let go. You had to keep coming over… No matter what I did, no matter what I said. You had to cling to me. And forced me to invent all these lies… But, fuck, you kept hanging on… Even when I got my brother to pretend to be evil. Even after all of that, you still came, you wouldn't just run away like you should have. And now Theo is dead and… And…"

She sobbed, loudly.

"Fuck, Reid…"

The room went silent, save for the sounds of Iris' light sobs.

"I love you…" Reid whispered eventually.

"I don't care." She said, her eyes red with tears. "I don't care. You ruined everything… You killed my brother, you got me shot… Just go away. You and the freaky things you can do…Leave me alone."

There was no more sound in the room save the buzz of the heater. Reid stared at Iris who had buried her face in her sheets and opened his mouth to try and say something, but no sound came out and no word could describe how he felt. So he stood, Iris still not looking up at him. He heard what he thought was another muffled _go away, _but he couldn't be sure, and nothing she could say would make things change. He felt dead, inside, and nothing anyone could say would make him feel alive again.

* * *

_This is the second alternate ending, and you may have noticed that the beginning is the same as the previous one. So this would be the end! Thank you everyone who reviewed and encouraged me and whatnot, you all rock hardcore!_


	19. Survey: Do it

Marasquin's_Iris_ survey:

So as you know, if you are reading this, Iris is over, thanks to the constant encouragement of all of you (you all rock, for the record.) But I'm not quite satisfied with the way it ended, and some of you might be as well, so I put together this little survey to see what I should do. This is the time when all those who didn't review (I know who you are) really should, because if you want to keep reading this is what will determine the (possible) sequel's fate.

Question 1: **Should there be a sequel?**

a) Yes

b) No (you can stop here, the other questions are redundant.)

Question 2: **Should it be based on:**

a) The first ending

b) The second ending

Question 3 (the obvious one): **Concerning Iris and Reid, what should happen?**

a) They hate each other

b) One hates the other (please specify)

c) They get together

d) They stay friends

e) They go their separate ways

Question 4: **Ideas?**

a) Yes (again, please specify and elaborate)

b) No

Question 5: **Which ending do you prefer (without taking into consideration the possible sequel – this is just for my personal curiosity) and why?**

a) The first

b) The second.

Question 6: **will you assist me in getting one hundred reviews? Only requiring fourteen more, even just a word or a punctuation mark will do!**

a) Yes, I'm awesome like that.

b) No, I'm a party pooper.

That's it! Just write your answers in a review. Thanks for assisting me in the continuity of this storyline! 


End file.
